Layout of Acapulco
Acapulco is built around the Bahía de Santa Lucía, a horseshoe about 8 km wide with a narrow entrance and steep hills closing it on three sides. That shape is the reason the town exists: it gave the Spanish crown the deepest natural harbour on the Pacific side of New Spain, and from 1565 until 1815 it was the American terminus of the Manila galleon, the annual convoy that carried Asian silk and porcelain in and Mexican silver out. The city was founded in 1550, and the pentagonal Fuerte de San Diego, first built between 1615 and 1617 and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1776, still stands above the harbour as the city museum.
The single road that ties the city together is the Costera Miguel Alemán, which runs about 12 km around the inside of the bay. Guides and residents divide the city into three parts along it. Acapulco Tradicional is the western end: the zócalo with its modernist cathedral, the fort, the fishing and cruise docks, and, on the Península de las Playas behind them, the sheltered beaches of Caleta and Caletilla and the cliffs of La Quebrada. Acapulco Dorado is the middle, the strip of high-rise hotels built between the 1950s and the 1970s that made the city an international resort, with Playa Hornos, Playa Condesa and Playa Icacos along it and the Papagayo park behind. Acapulco Diamante is the newest, spreading east and south-east from the bay's outer point around the small bay of Puerto Marqués and along the open Playa Revolcadero.
General Juan N. Álvarez International Airport (ACA) is about 25 km south-east of the zócalo, past Diamante on the sand bar between the sea and the Tres Palos lagoon. On 25 October 2023 the city was hit directly by Hurricane Otis, which reached Category 5 in the hours before landfall and damaged a large part of the hotel stock, the power grid and the port; rebuilding has continued since, and some properties remain closed.
Distances from Acapulco
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pie de la Cuesta / Laguna de Coyuca | 12 | 30 min | Highway 200 west |
| Puerto Marqués | 18 | 30 min | Carretera Escénica east |
| Acapulco airport (ACA) | 25 | 35 min | Highway 200 east, taxi or shuttle |
| Barra Vieja | 30 | 45 min | Highway 200 east past the airport |
| Chilpancingo (state capital) | 130 | 1 h 30 | Highway 95D north |
| Taxco | 220 | 3 h | Highway 95D, then 95 north |
| Zihuatanejo | 240 | 4 h | Highway 200 up the coast |
| Cuernavaca | 300 | 3 h 30 | Highway 95D |
| Mexico City | 380 | 4 h | Autopista del Sol, Highway 95D |
| Puerto Escondido | 400 | 6 h 30 | Highway 200 down the coast |
| Huatulco | 510 | 8 h | Highway 200 down the coast |
Beaches and the coast around the bay
The beaches inside the bay face west and north-west and have almost no swell, which is why the city grew where it did. Caleta and Caletilla, two small coves on the peninsula, are the oldest bathing beaches and the ones Mexican families use; boats leave from them for Isla La Roqueta, a wooded island a few hundred metres offshore with a beach on its sheltered side. Along the Costera, Playa Hornos, Playa Hornitos and Playa Condesa run in an almost unbroken line to Playa Icacos at the eastern end, the longest of them.
Outside the bay the water changes completely. Playa Revolcadero and Barra Vieja, on the open coast east of the airport road, are long, straight beaches with a heavy shore break and a current strong enough that swimming is often unwise; they are used for horse riding and for the seafood restaurants along the sand bar. West of the city, Pie de la Cuesta is a similar open beach on a bar between the ocean and the Laguna de Coyuca, a freshwater lagoon of about 30 km² with mangrove islands, reached by boat from the village. The climate is tropical and strongly seasonal: rain falls almost entirely from June to October, which is also the Pacific hurricane season, and the dry months from November to April are the reason the resort season peaks at Christmas and Easter. For the surroundings see the Southern Mexico map, the Guerrero page, the beaches map and the climate map.
Questions about Acapulco
Where is Acapulco on the map of Mexico?
On the Pacific coast at 16.86° N, in Guerrero, 380 km south of Mexico City. The Autopista del Sol, Highway 95D, covers that distance in about four hours, which makes it the closest ocean to the capital.
How far is Acapulco from Mexico City?
380 km by road. The 95D toll motorway takes about four hours; the free Highway 95 through Chilpancingo and the mountains takes six or more. Flights between Mexico City and Acapulco airport (ACA) take under an hour.
What happened to Acapulco in Hurricane Otis?
Otis struck Acapulco as a Category 5 hurricane in the early hours of 25 October 2023, intensifying from a tropical storm in about 12 hours. It damaged or destroyed a large share of the city's hotels, homes and power network; official figures put the death toll at about 50, with dozens more reported missing. Reconstruction has been under way since.
What is La Quebrada?
A cleft in the cliffs at the western end of the old town where divers have performed since the 1930s, jumping about 35 m into a narrow channel and timing the leap to the incoming swell. Shows run several times a day, including after dark.
Is Acapulco safe to visit?
Guerrero carries a US State Department Level 4 advisory, do not travel, and US government employees are barred from travelling anywhere in the state, Acapulco included. The city continues to receive large numbers of Mexican visitors. Read the current advisory in full before deciding.